Ospcode's Private Chef Gets Cooking with Facebook

The latest version of Opscode's Private Chef is now available and has been deployed by Facebook to automate systems configuration in the social network's Web-tier infrastructure, including thousands of servers. Private Chef uses the codebase of Opscode Chef 11, also just released, and features a new management console and centralized activity reporting.

Aimed at large-scale enterprise data centers and service providers, Private Chef enables customers to automate a wide range of processes, including application delivery and server configuration. Enterprises can configure and deploy infrastructure as code across a variety of operating systems, including Windows, Linux and Unix. Private Chef 11 is available now for download; pricing is subscription-based. Opscode competes with Puppet Labs, which recently received a $30 million investment from VMware.

ForeScout, AirWatch Team Up

ForeScout and AirWatch are combining ForeScout's network access control product, CounterACT, and AirWatch's MDM technology to help boost mobile security. By using integrated NAC and MDM capabilities through ForeScout Mobile, customers can both identify the user and the type of device connecting to an enterprise's network, and enroll them quickly and securely.

The combined offering can detect jail-broken and rooted devices and block or limit access to them, and configure devices over the air for access to corporate email, Wi-Fi and VPN. It can also blacklist applications. The ForeScout CounterACT platform gives enterprises a unified view of all mobile endpoint devices including PCs, smartphones, tablets and laptops. The offering also has the ability to remotely locate, lock, and wipe lost or stolen devices.

The joint ForeScout-AirWatch offering will be showcased during the Mobile World Congress Feb. 25 to 28.

WatchGuard Expands UTM Line

Seven new models are available in WatchGuard Technologies' line of Extensible Threat Management (XTM) hardware appliances. The XTM 1520, 1525 and 2520 models are aimed at corporate headquarters, enterprise data centers and managed security services, while the XTM 800 series is designed to meet the needs of small and midsize businesses. The XTM 800 series run the latest Intel Xeon multicore CPU.

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The XTM 1525 offers up to 25-Gbps firewall throughput, and can support up to 10,000 branch-office VPN tunnels. All the XTM models feature dynamic routing, WAN failover and link aggregation, and include security services from Websense, AVG and Broadweb to address malware and blended security threats. WatchGuard's latest XTM appliances also include Fireware XTM 11.7, which features improved policy grouping and includes Websense's URL filtering database and VPN apps for Android and iOS devices.

InformationWeek Reports recently published IT Pro Ranking: Unified Threat Management. This report surveyed almost 200 IT professionals who use, or have used or evaluated, UTM products. Respondents rated five UTM vendors on core features, including malware detection, intrusion prevention and throughput. The report is free with registration.

HP Takes Agile Development to the Cloud

HP is taking a SaaS approach to help enterprises with their Agile development projects and improving application performance under the umbrella of its HP Converged Cloud Strategy with the launch of HP Agile Manager and HP Performance Manager.

Agile Manager simplifies the planning and management of projects across Agile teams through a Web-based interface with customizable dashboards, including KPIs and the status of tasks. It also flags potential bottlenecks that can slow down a project, and provides two-way syncing with HP Application Lifecycle Management and HP Quality Center.

HP Performance Anywhere integrates with Agile Manager and Quality Center and helps development, test and operations teams collaborate and better align with IT and business priorities. Both services are available through subscription pricing, which starts at $39 per user. Agile Manager is available now, while Performance Anywhere will be available soon.

Our latest survey shows growing demand, fixed budgets, and good reason why resellers and vendors must fight to remain relevant. One thing's for sure: The data center is poised for a wild ride, and no one wants to be left behind.